GEORGETOWN, Texas — CleanFUEL USA and Blue Bird Corporation, a leading school bus manufacturer today announced they have received purchase orders to provide 154 Propane-Powered Vision school buses to several Southern California school districts and contractors before the start of the 2009-2010 school year. Propane is a clean burning non-toxic engine fuel that offers significant environmental and cost-saving benefits over other fleet fuels. Released in 2008, sales of the Propane Vision bus have tripled and growth is expected to remain strong with new funding incentives made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
“We’ve seen tremendous interest statewide and a dramatic increase in sales for the CleanFUEL-powered Blue Bird Vision bus advocated by School Boards to provide greener transportation options,” said John Roselli, New School Bus Sales Manager, A-Z Bus Sales. “It provides a wide range of benefits for our customers, including compliance with 2010 federal and state emissions mandates, competitive fuel-economy, eligibility for federal tax incentives and advanced fleet management solutions.”
The Propane-Powered Vision has the lowest incremental cost of alternative fuel buses and with CleanFUEL’s advanced liquid propane injection (LPI) system it produces the lowest emissions on record for heavy-duty vehicles. Blue Bird provides the only full-size, OEM propane offering for the school transportation industry. Outfitted with GM’s 8.1L LPI engine, the Propane Vision is the cleanest school bus sold in the United States – certified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board.
“Providing our students with a safe and clean mode of transportation is a high priority for my team,” said Greg Miller, Senior Vice President of Fleet Operations for Durham School Services. “We currently operate 25 propane school buses and look forward to taking delivery of an additional 67 new Propane Vision buses later this year.”
School buses travel 5.7 billion miles a year according to the American School Bus Council – with most buses on the road currently powered by diesel. In an effort to promote economic recovery and reduce diesel emissions, the EPA’s National Clean Diesel Campaign made new funding recently available. Under the program, school districts can apply for financial assistance towards transportation purchases that support its diesel emissions reduction strategies. The CleanFUEL-powered Propane Vision school bus is eligible for a 50 percent discount. Deadline for applications is April 28, 2009 and more details can be found here.
Blue Bird’s Propane-Powered Vision buses provide school transportation directors a cleaner, quieter, more reliable and powerful school bus option. The Moreno Valley, Wm S. Hart, Redlands, Inglewood and Pope Valley school districts as well as contractors working with Los Angeles Unified, the second largest school district in the U.S, will all increase the number of propane buses operated by its fleets this year. California and Texas have been early in embracing propane-powered school buses but Blue Bird reports orders coming from New Jersey, Ohio, Missouri, Florida, North Dakota, Michigan, British Columbia, Pennsylvania, New York, Iowa, and Oregon with growing interest throughout North America.
